Meanings
plural gamuts
- A (normally) complete range.
1933?, Dorothy Parker, review of Katharine Hepburn in the Broadway play The Lake She delivered a striking performance that ran the gamut of emotions, from A to B.
3 more examples
I must begin with rudiments of Art / To teach you gamoth in a briefer sort, - - Bian. Why, I am past my gamouth long agoe.
c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)The entire gamut of the view's changes should have been known to her; its winter aspect, spring, summer and autumn; how storms came up from the sea; how the moors shuddered and brightened as the clouds went over; she should have noted the red spot where the villas were building; and the criss-cross of lines where the allotments were cut...
1922, Virginia Woolf, chapter 2, in Jacob’s RoomTHE LONDON BRIGHTON & SOUTH COAST RAILWAY. By C. Hamilton Ellis. Ian Allan. 30s. [...] In the course of its pages the author runs through the whole gamut of the locomotives that have during the period under review run on the rails of the L.B. & S.C. and its forebears.
1960 December, “New reading on railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 776 - entertainmentAll the notes in a musical scale.
Origin
- Medieval Latingamma ut
- Englishgamut
1520s, original sense “lowest note of musical scale”, contraction of Medieval Latin gamma ut, from gamma (“Greek letter, corresponding to the musical note G”) + ut (“first solfège syllable, now replaced by do”). In modern terms, “G do” – the first note of the G scale. Meaning later extended to mean all the notes of a scale, and then more generally any complete range.
More words from Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَمْر بِرُمَتِه, سُلَّمُ المُوسِيقَيّ
- أَمْر بِرُمَتِه (ʔamr birumatih)complete range
- سُلَّمُ المُوسِيقَيّ (sullamu l-mūsīqayy)all the notes in the musical scale
- سلسلة اللونيةall the colours available to a device
Bulgarian диапазон, гама
- диапазон (diapazon)complete range
- гама (gama)all the notes in the musical scale
- палитра (palitra)all the colours available to a device
Catalan gamma, gamma
- gammacomplete range
- gammaall the notes in the musical scale
- gammaall the colours available to a device
Czech škála, rozsah
- škálacomplete range
- rozsahcomplete range
- škálaall the notes in the musical scale
- rozsahall the notes in the musical scale
- (barevná) škálaall the colours available to a device
- paletaall the colours available to a device
Dutch gamma, pallet
- gammacomplete range
- palletcomplete range
- toonladderall the notes in the musical scale
Esperanto gamo, gamo
- gamocomplete range
- gamoall the notes in the musical scale
Finnish kirjo, skaala
- kirjocomplete range
- skaalacomplete range
- asteikkocomplete range
- sävelasteikkoall the notes in the musical scale
- asteikkoall the notes in the musical scale
- värialaall the colours available to a device
- värintoistoalueall the colours available to a device
- värintoistoalaall the colours available to a device
French gamme, palette
- gammecomplete range
- palettecomplete range
- gammeall the notes in the musical scale
- gammeall the colours available to a device
- paletteall the colours available to a device
- gamutall the colours available to a device
German Skala, Palette
- Skalacomplete range
- Palettecomplete range
- Tonumfangall the notes in the musical scale
- Farbumfangall the colours available to a device
- Gamutall the colours available to a device
Greek γκάμα, κλίμακα
- γκάμα (gkáma)complete range
- κλίμακα (klímaka)all the notes in the musical scale
Hungarian skála, hangskála
- skálacomplete range
- hangskálaall the notes in the musical scale
- színskálaall the colours available to a device
Icelandic skali, svið
- skalicomplete range
- sviðcomplete range
- röðcomplete range
- tónarófall the notes in the musical scale
- tónaskaliall the notes in the musical scale
Italian gamma
- gammaall the colours available to a device
Japanese 全領域
- 全領域 (zen-ryōiki)complete range
Korean 전반, 전영역
- 전반 (jeonban)complete range
- 전영역 (jeonnyeong'yeok)complete range
Norwegian palett
- palettall the colours available to a device
Polish gama, gama
- gamacomplete range
- gamaall the notes in the musical scale
Portuguese gama, gama
- gamacomplete range
- gamaall the notes in the musical scale
- gamaall the colours available to a device
Romanian gamă, paletă
- gamăcomplete range
- paletăcomplete range
- gamăall the notes in the musical scale
- paletăall the colours available to a device
- gamăall the colours available to a device
Russian га́мма, диапазо́н
- га́мма (gámma)complete range
- диапазо́н (diapazón)complete range
- охва́т (oxvát)complete range
- га́мма (gámma)all the notes in the musical scale
- га́мма (gámma)all the colours available to a device
- диапазо́н (diapazón)all the colours available to a device
- охва́т (oxvát)all the colours available to a device
Spanish gama, gama
- gamacomplete range
- gamaall the notes in the musical scale
- gamaall the colours available to a device
Swedish skala, register
- skalacomplete range
- registercomplete range
Turkish skala, gam
- skalacomplete range
- gamall the notes in the musical scale
- renk paletiall the colours available to a device
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gamut
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
gamut. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gamut
“gamut.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gamut. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gamut,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gamut.
Source: gamut on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.